She laughs at something George said, rocking back at forth on her chair, and then retorts and the twins are laughing as well.
He, Remus, can't help but stare. Their eyes meet and, with a cheeky smile, she winks at him. He smiles at her, only he's a second too late, and she's back inside the twins joke. He is suddenly very aware that he must look strange, staring at her like that.
She snorts, the twins keep on whatever the story is and he forces himself to talk to Sirius, instead of looking at her again. He loves her laughter.
And that sudden thought distracts him for very different reasons.
"I wonder when you're going to admit it," Sirius says, with a grin that is so full of mischief, much like the one he displayed before all hell broke loose during the first war, he can't come up with a suitable retort.
To win a little time, he takes an extra helping of roasted chicken, which happens to be right in front of Tonks, and he swears it doesn't look strange at all if he looks at her again. Only, she might be looking at him, too, and when their eyes meet, he almost forgets all about the chicken.
Fred saves the entire thing, unknowingly, with a new witty remark. Tonks is laughing again and he wishes he were in the joke, too.
"So?"
He almost forgot Sirius was there.
"So, what?"
"So are you going to admit it?"
Remus sighs, feigning a contempt he is far from feeling. "Whenever you decide to make complete sentences, and to give them some sense for good measure, let me know."
At this, Sirius laughs, and it's a bark-like sound, completely unlike his cousin's.
"All right, you can pretend you don't know what this is about. And I can pretend I don't know either."
Remus knows. And Sirius, knows, of course he does. He has a lot of free time, and, as most of his and Tonks interactions happen inside headquarters, he has had a privileged position looking at it all.
At what, exactly? A nasty voice inside Remus' head asks.
Nothing. Nothing to look at, whatsoever.
"You should ask her out."
"Who," Remus asks, mechanically.
"My mother."
At this Remus finally chuckles and, without knowing how, he looks back up. Tonks is looking at him, again, grinning. "You'll have to ask Remus about that," she says, and George looks at him, too.
"Pardon me?" Remus asks, happy to be invited at whatever that is.
"What's the spell behind the Marauder's Map?" Fred asks.
"What makes you think I'm the one behind it?" he asks both twins and Tonks.
"I very much doubt it was Sirius," she prompts.
"What? You offend me!"
"Were you?"
"No, but still…"
And Remus explains, and even though he's talking to Fred and George, and pointedly ignoring Molly's glares of disapproval, he's actually talking to her. Looking at Tonks, who's looking back, with bright eyes and an impish smile.
He has to make a different effort, now, not to lose the trail of what he's talking about, in those big warm eyes.